The Swing
by tivainthesnogbox
Summary: Back. Forth. Back. Forth. A moment for Tony and Ziva.


It was dusk when Tony stepped outside onto the veranda and into the summer air. He, along with Abby, Ducky, and the rest of the team had been ordered by the director to attend SecNav's latest party. It had started in the late afternoon and was still going strong, which Tony suspected had something to do with the hard liquor that was brought out two hours ago. He was tired of it all, the schmoozing and fake conversations especially. One look at Gibbs and anyone could tell he was pissed. He wanted to be in his basement, working on his latest project. Ducky was mingling with the guests, Abby and McGee were entertaining each other, and he was presently having trouble finding the last member of his team. His favorite, ask him, and he'll deny it, but his favorite nonetheless. Ziva David. Tony thought maybe she had needed some air and had stepped out to get away from the suffocating company. He could sympathize.

It was pleasant out, not too humid and not too hot. The light, provided by the moon that was just beginning its nightly rise into the sky and the lamps that lined the footpaths throughout the grounds, allowed him to see the dark outline of the woman he sought. She was facing away from him.

He headed towards her, and the closer he got, the more he was captivated by the beauty in front of him. It was a quiet, soft beauty that came from the sense of tranquility that surrounded her. She was lighting swaying in the swing that extended down from a branch of the largest oak tree on the property. Her feet were bare, her heels kicked to the side, as they provided the soft momentum to move the swing. Her hands lightly held the ropes, and her head was leaning against the right one. Her hair was curly and in a half-up, half-down style. She rarely showed her girly side, but tonight she was wearing a flowery summer dress that accentuated all of her curves. It wasn't in the "look-at-me" way that used to turn him on. It was simple in its femininity. He felt himself fall in love a little bit more.

"I thought I might find you out here," he said from behind her.

"Party too much for you, too?" she asked softly, lifting her head to turn and look at him. He walked around to her other side so she could turn around to her original position.

"Yeah, " he said with his hands in his pockets while looking up at the stars that were unusually bright that night. "It's a nice night out here."

"Hmmm…." was her response. He had expected her to tease him about talking about the weather, and when she didn't, he turned back to look at her. She looked sad, melancholy. The sense of tranquility he thought he had noticed was slowly disappearing. He stepped closer to her. The swing stopped moving when he placed his right hand under her chin and gently tilted it up so she was looking at him. Her eyes were glassy as if she was trying to hold back tears.

He knelt in front of her, his right arm resting on his bent knee and his left hand placed on her knee. "What's wrong, ninja?" A brief smile flashed across her face at the nickname, but she did not respond. She just shrugged. He shook her knee gently. "No, really. What's wrong, Ziva? Are you alright?" he was trying not to worry.

She was quiet for a minute. When she spoke, it was in a voice so soft it was almost a whisper, "I was thinking about my childhood. I came out here, saw this swing, and memories just came flooding back. I remembered we had had a swing in our backyard. One afternoon, back when I was seven, I just really wanted to spend time with my father. I went to him and asked if he wanted to play outside with me. Nothing exhausting. All I wanted was for him to push me in the swing. I was not asking him to run around, just spend some time. But he said that he was too busy for trivial things like that. Looking back, I can see that that moment was when our relationship changed and how he was becoming a different man. It just all came flooding back when I saw this swing, I guess. That and the desire for something good and permanent," she fell silent, hands folded in her lap.

Tony moved his hand from her knee and covered her small hands with his larger one. "I'm sorry, Ziva," he said softly. Both knew that there was nothing he could say on the subject of her father to make it better, at least not right now, but she still received the unspoken words of sympathy and comfort when she looked into his eyes.

He stood up and walked behind her. She opened her moth to ask him where he was going, when his hands took hold of the ropes, pulled back, and let go. The swing moved forward. When it came back, he lightly pushed on her back, and the swing moved away. It came back. He pushed. Back. Forth. Back. Forth. Push. Wait. Push. Wait. The rhythm soothing both of their spirits.

Before either of them realized it, they had continued in this pattern for almost 30 minutes. The party was winding down. People started to leave. "I better see if Abby is ready to leave," Ziva spoke up. Abby had given her a ride.

"We probably should go back in," Tony conceded.

The swing stopped. Tony had his arm out and waiting when Ziva stood up. She looked at it, then threaded her arm through his. They walked arm-in-arm back to the house.

They ran into the director when they walked in. "You two are free to go. I released the rest of the team, too. Agent David, Ms. Sciuto asked me to tell you that she had something to take care of at home. I gave her permission to leave early," Vance said with a nod and walked away.

Tony and Ziva looked at each other. "Come on, ninja. I'll drive you home." Ziva smiled, not even pretending to protest. The ride home was in comfortable silence. They were secure in their friendship and partnership. No words were needed.

Tony walked Ziva to the door of her apartment. She unlocked the door, stepped in, and turned on a light before turning back to him. "Thank you, Tony. For everything." She was looking down, a moment of fleeting vulnerability.

He leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. A kiss which lingered longer than one between friends would. She leaned into the kiss. When he pulled back, Tony said, "I'm always here when you need me."

She nodded, smiled. "Goodnight, Tony."

"Goodnight, Ziva," he said as she closed the door. Now that he was alone, he really let himself think freely. He so wished that he could take away the pain from the woman he loved. Yeah, _loved. _He was done denying it, even to himself. With that realization, the one that he had just admitted to himself his love for his partner, he almost turned back to knock on her door and ask her on a date for the next day. He stopped himself though. The old Tony would not have hesitated to take advantage of a woman's emotional vulnerability, but not this Tony, the one in _love_ with Ziva David.

"Wow, I must really love her," he said quietly to himself as he walked back to his car. On the way home and for the rest of the night, his thoughts were filled with his beautiful ninja, his thankfulness that he was forced to go to a party which resulted in his finally admitting his feelings to himself, and plans on how he was going to finally _tell her. _He was going to tell her and be her something permanent.

A/N: I don't own NCIS. Thank you for reading!


End file.
